Hindi English Translation || Editorial || ​Pension woes: on EPFO member-pensioners

​Pension woes: on EPFO member-pensioners

The Centre must bring in (लाना, उत्पन्न करना) transparency (पारदर्शिता, स्पष्टता) in scrutiny (जाँच, परीक्षण) of pension claims (दावा, आवेदन)

The Standing Committee of Parliamentarians on Labour, Textiles and Skill Development, in its report on the 2025–26 demands for grants (अनुदान) to the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment, has rightly reiterated (दोहराना, पुनः कहना) the urgent need to revise the minimum monthly pension of ₹1,000 for member-pensioners under the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) (कर्मचारी भविष्य निधि संगठन). This amount, fixed in August 2014 under the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) (EPF Pension which is technically known as EPS stands for Employees’ Pension Scheme and was launched in the year 1995 with the aim of helping employees in the organized sector. Employees who are eligible for the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) scheme shall also be eligible for EPS. Employees’ Pension Scheme is a social security scheme provided by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)) of 1995, has remained unchanged for over a decade (दशक). Ironically (विडंबनात्मक रूप से, आश्चर्यजनक रूप से), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government continues to take credit (श्रेय, मान्यता) for the pension hike in 2014, though it merely (केवल, मात्र) implemented a decision announced earlier by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime (शासन, सरकार). Back in 2014, when the UPA proposed the ₹1,000 minimum pension, the BJP, which was in the Opposition, criticised the move (कदम, कार्यवाही) as insufficient. Its senior leader, Prakash Javadekar, called it a “pittance (a very small amount (of money); a tiny amount, next to nothing, very little, peanuts, chump change)” and demanded a hike to at least ₹3,000.

At present, the government allocates an average of ₹980 crore annually for minimum pension payments. This figure (a number, especially one that is part of statistics or data) needs to be tripled (increase by three (times)) in order to make it a meaningful increase. Additionally, the Centre contributes 1.16% of wages (capped at a ₹15,000 monthly wage ceiling) towards the EPS corpus ((in finance) total amount of money; collection) — an amount revised to ₹9,250 crore for 2024-25 and expected to cross ₹10,000 crore in 2025-26. The government’s argument is that it cannot afford a further financial burden (a financial obligation or liability that causes strain or difficulty; trouble, problem, difficulty, strain; responsibility, onus, obligation, liability), but feasible (workable, viable, practicable, possible, reasonable, realistic) suggestions to manage the additional expenditure have been submitted to the Labour and Finance Ministries and the EPFO. Equally concerning (worrying, alarming, unsettling, disquieting, distressing, disturbing) is the EPFO’s handling of applications from those opting for pensions based on higher wages. Many applicants, now receiving demand notices (a formal notification issued by the EPFO to an employer or employee, typically for non-payment or delayed payment of PF dues, including penalties and interest charges) requiring contributions amounting to several lakhs of rupees, have been left in the dark (be unaware of, ignorant of, or uninformed about something) about their entitled (sanctioned, allowed, authorized, permitted) pension amounts and arrears (an unpaid or overdue debt or an unfulfilled obligation). In several cases, applicants have had to rely on (depend on, count on, bank on, lean on, resort to, or have recourse to) their online accounts to track updates, as the EPFO has failed to issue any official communication. Instead of providing clarity, applicants are expected to calculate their expected pension through a portal-based calculator that comes with a disclaimer and no assurance of accuracy. The situation is worse for member-pensioners from exempted establishments (an employer that has been granted permission by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to manage its own Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) contributions through a private trust, rather than contributing directly to the EPFO), where authorities (bureaucracy, officials, officialdom, the people in charge, the administration, the establishment, the system, corridors of power) have summarily (immediately, instantly, straight away) rejected applications for higher pension and even stopped previously sanctioned (approve, allow, permit) higher pensions without proper explanation. The Union government must initiate comprehensive (complete, thorough, extensive, wide-ranging, all-embracing, in-depth, widespread, sweeping, far-reaching) stakeholder (a person with an interest in something) consultations, take steps to increase the monthly pension and ensure the fair treatment of all member-pensioners.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.woes (noun)

Hindi Meaning - कष्ट, संकट
English Meaning - trouble, difficulty, problem, tribulation, distress, heartbreak, anguish, affliction, grief, or pain.

2.bring in (phrasal verb)

Hindi Meaning - लाना, उत्पन्न करना
English Meaning - cause, bring about, give rise to, create, or produce.

3.transparency (noun)

Hindi Meaning - पारदर्शिता, स्पष्टता
English Meaning - clarity, straightforwardness, openness, honesty, unambiguity.

4.scrutiny (noun)

Hindi Meaning - जाँच, परीक्षण
English Meaning - examination, inspection, or investigation.

5.claim (noun)

Hindi Meaning - दावा, आवेदन
English Meaning - application; request, demand.

6.Parliamentary select committee (noun)

Hindi Meaning - संसदीय चयन समिति
English Meaning - ‘parliamentary select committee’ can be formed for a specific purpose, for instance, to deliberate on a particular bill. Once the Bill is disposed of, that select committee ceases to exist.

7.grant (noun)

Hindi Meaning - अनुदान
English Meaning - allocation, allotment (of fund given by a government).

8.reiterate (verb)

Hindi Meaning - दोहराना, पुनः कहना
English Meaning - say something again; say again, repeat, retell, restate, iterate, recapitulate

9.decade (noun)

Hindi Meaning - दशक
English Meaning - a period of ten years.

10.ironically (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - विडंबनात्मक रूप से, आश्चर्यजनक रूप से
English Meaning - paradoxically, unexpectedly, strangely.

11.credit (noun)

Hindi Meaning - श्रेय, मान्यता
English Meaning - recognition, appreciation, praise, acknowledgment for an achievement.

12.Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) (noun)

Hindi Meaning - कर्मचारी भविष्य निधि संगठन
English Meaning - The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is a statuary body which assists Central Board in administering compulsory contributory Provident Fund Scheme, Pension Scheme and Insurance Scheme for the workforce engaged in the organised sector in India. EPFO is one of the World’s largest Social Security Organisations in terms of clientele and the volume of financial transactions undertaken.

13.merely (adverb)

Hindi Meaning - केवल, मात्र
English Meaning - Just; only; emphasizing that something is not more than what it seems.

14.regime (noun)

Hindi Meaning - शासन, सरकार
English Meaning - government.

15.move (noun)

Hindi Meaning - कदम, कार्यवाही
English Meaning - an action taken to achieve a particular purpose; activity, step, measure.

16.Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) , 1995 (noun)

English Meaning - EPF Pension which is technically known as EPS stands for Employees’ Pension Scheme and was launched in the year 1995 with the aim of helping employees in the organized sector. Employees who are eligible for the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) scheme shall also be eligible for EPS. Employees’ Pension Scheme is a social security scheme provided by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).

17.House committees (noun)

English Meaning - The parliamentary (standing & select) committees; They do close examination and investigation of government policies, actions and spending.

18.Parliamentary Standing Committee/Parliamentary panel (noun)

English Meaning - it is a committee (consisting of Members of Parliament) constituted usually on an annual basis to enable detailed consideration/discussion on all bills (all proposed laws).

19.pittance (noun)

English Meaning - a very small amount (of money); a tiny amount, next to nothing, very little, peanuts, chump change.

20.figure (noun)

English Meaning - a number, especially one that is part of statistics or data.

21.triple (verb)

English Meaning - increase by three (times).

22.in order to (phrase)

English Meaning - with the aim/purpose of achieving something.

23.cap (verb)

English Meaning - to place a limit or restriction on something.

24.ceiling (noun)

English Meaning - an upper limit set on prices, wages, or other quantities; cap, limit.

25.corpus (noun)

English Meaning - (in finance) total amount of money; collection.

26.could not afford/cannot afford/can ill afford (phrase)

English Meaning - if you cannot afford to do something, you must prevent it from happening because it would be embarrassing and cause problems (if it happens).

27.burden (noun)

English Meaning - a financial obligation or liability that causes strain or difficulty; trouble, problem, difficulty, strain; responsibility, onus, obligation, liability.

28.feasible (adjective)

English Meaning - workable, viable, practicable, possible, reasonable, realistic.

29.concerning (adjective)

English Meaning - worrying, alarming, unsettling, disquieting, distressing, disturbing.

30.demand notice (noun)

English Meaning - a formal notification issued by the EPFO to an employer or employee, typically for non-payment or delayed payment of PF dues, including penalties and interest charges.

31.amount to (verb)

English Meaning - constitute, comprise, be equal to, add up to, be tantamount to, be equivalent to, represent, be regarded as.

32.in the dark (phrase)

English Meaning - be unaware of, ignorant of, or uninformed about something.

33.entitled (adjective)

English Meaning - sanctioned, allowed, authorized, permitted.

34.arrear (noun)

English Meaning - an unpaid or overdue debt or an unfulfilled obligation.

35.rely on (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - depend on, count on, bank on, lean on, resort to, or have recourse to.

36.exempted (adjective)

English Meaning - excluded, discharged, cleared.

37.establishment (noun)

English Meaning - firm, company, enterprise, entity, organization.

38.exempted establishment (noun)

English Meaning - an employer that has been granted permission by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to manage its own Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) contributions through a private trust, rather than contributing directly to the EPFO.

39.authorities (noun)

English Meaning - bureaucracy, officials, officialdom, the people in charge, the administration, the establishment, the system, corridors of power.

40.summarily (adverb)

English Meaning - immediately, instantly, straight away.

41.sanction (verb)

English Meaning - approve, allow, permit.

42.comprehensive (noun)

English Meaning - complete, thorough, extensive, wide-ranging, all-embracing, in-depth, widespread, sweeping, far-reaching.

43.stakeholder (noun)

English Meaning - a person with an interest in something.